Aston Villa have signed teenage goalkeeper Filip Marschall from Cambridge City.
Just 15, Marschall is tipped for a bright future and has been snapped up by the claret and blues.
It’s very much a signing with long-term thinking.
Marschall will hook up with the Villans’ youth set-up.
He follows Axel Tuanzebe, of Manchester United, into the club this month. Tuanzebe, a defender who can play in midfield, has agreed a deal until the end of the season.
Marschall’s coach at non-league Cambridge City, Dallas Lawrence, said: “Filip is a superb young person who has been an absolute joy to coach and work with over the last three years.
“He always arrives for training and games with the right attitude and willingness to learn and to push his own ability. This is great reward for him.”
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City vice-chairman Terry Dunn added: “It’s great for Filip and everyone involved at Cambridge City that one of our youngsters has made the move to a professional club.
“It also underlines how strong our youth structure is, and reward for the work that has gone into rebuilding this aspect of the club in recent years.
“He is clearly a great talent and everyone throughout the club wishes him well.”
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What to expect
Chief Executive Keith Wyness has warned clubs that have crossed Aston Villa not to expect any favours this month.
Wyness said it was a time to 'settle scores' with rude rivals
Speaking to the club's official media channels, Wyness spoke bluntly about what he expects during the transfer window.
He stated: "It will be down to the little black books of myself, Steve Bruce and Steve Round and each of us calling on friendships within other clubs.
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"It's also a time to settle scores with a few clubs, they want a favour and you can tell them they were rude to you before and you aren't going to do it!"
Wyness revealed the club's hopes for the coming window and how they operate during one of the busiest periods in the football calendar.
The Scot will have a phone that's busier than most over the next few days and has revealed what he is expecting from the January transfer window.
Wyness said: "Well, the way we approach this window is different, myself and Steve Round will be on the phone seven or eight times a day.
"What we agreed at the start of the window is that we wouldn't take anyone in unless they could go straight into the squad and make a big impact.
"They have to be better than what we have, the depth of the squad is there so it really has to be certain types of players that are going to be special.
"Those players are most likely to be on loan and that means clubs will be waiting to see if they have injuries and other problems before they let them go."
He has admitted that any further business after the capture of loan defender Axel Tuanzebe from Manchester United, will go down to the wire.
"We recognised pretty quickly that anything that needs to be done will probably be towards the end of the window, and probably even the last evening.
"Things will be late in terms of developing, January is tricky, we aren't in the market to buy due to FFP.
"Myself, Steve Bruce and Steve Round have a constant dialogue during the window and a very clear communication channel which is vital as deals can happen fast.
"I will then obviously speak to Tony and we will put together the final case with a yes or no.
"We don't need a complicated board, every time me and Tony have a wee chat, that's a board meeting."